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The Fallout 3 Thread

Started by JPA, January 14, 2010, 12:42:20 PM

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HappyTree

Any of you got any tips on how to avoid completing the game too quickly and missing out on side quests? Ideally I'd like to put off the end for quite a while.

jimmy jazz

You'll know, they do the old "this is it, the final battle etc etc" speech.

Sexton Brackets Drugbust

Just ignore any quests regarding your father.

MojoJojo

Uh avoid going in the library. I was avoid the main plot but went in there without realising it would unlock the next bit of the story. Not that it really matters - I was just a bit confused by the cutscenes.

kittens

I really had no idea the ending was coming when it did, I thought I was like halfway through the story. So when it did end, it had a big impact due to the surprise which I thought was really good.

Marvin

Broken Steel is pretty much essential as DLC, not for its own story but for the fact it is the only way to unlock the game fully post-ending and gives you an extra 10 XP levels.

Big Jack McBastard

I have posted this elsewhere on t'internet but I feel it may be of some use to folks starting out, or even halfway through-ish:

Get hold of the Lincoln Repeater from the Temple of the Union quest Head of State, and keep a stockpile of regular rifles to repair it with. It is a beast of a weapon and has been my main gun for hundreds of hours in the game.

Support the traders financially (Merchant Empire quest, talk to Uncle Roe in Canterbury Commons (CC)) and keep the buggers alive! If you see anything kicking off where it looks like a travelling trader (especially the (CC) ones) is about to get their ass handed to them then get to slaughtering whatever they're fighting. Alternately get the hell out of the area (fast travel if poss) or just go inside (frequent ant and radscorpion attacks outside of Megaton so just getting into another area will save them as a new cell is loaded).

Get the CC traders (Wolfgang, Doc Hoff, Crow, Lucky Harith) to repair the weapons/armour you want to keep and then trade with them they will have a lot more cash if you're paying them to repair stuff first.

Use Rivet City as a trading hub (the CC ones all pass by/spawn in front of the stairs, just use 'Wait' if they're not there) you can trade more inside and it's totally safe, no scorpions or Yao Gui tearing across the land to ruin you from behind, Megaton is ok for smaller batches of stuff but you have to spread it around in all of the shops to get any decent dough (Moria is richest, usually then the Doc) also the Giant Ant attacks outside can cull the NPC's (Including the CC folks) somewhat. Tenpenny Towers is a really good starter point for trade though as they're pretty rich and balls to actually trading at Canterbury Commons as the Radscorpions will rape the living daylights out of the squishy fellas.

Maximize your scavenging if you're confident you can make it over-encumbered from a location to a safe house (some epic trips there) you might as well go the whole hog and steal 'EVERYTHING' of any value from that location and any other you roll past, the extra weight won't weigh you down any further and you'll make more caps.

Factor in weight with value and condition if you're scavenging, be brutal, throw that flamethrower with a sliver of life left in it away (or stash it in a bin and come back for it later) and pick up the sensor modules/cigs/vodka (or whatever) instead.

Steal everything that isn't nailed down when people aren't looking this will hurt your karma a little but morality is elastic and if you're pining to be good it's always easy to free a slave or two if you've a backpack full of stolen bullets and armour.

Track down all 3 Dart Gun schematics, it cripples the living enemies and as such is invaluable.

Hunt Radscorpions for their glands you'll pick up hundreds in no time, they sell for a decent price for their weight.

Soon you'll have more caps than you ecan spend on bullets and repairs.

Manage your Perks, don't pick anything frivolous early on, I'm a fan of;

Strong Back (Carrying capacity)
Comprehension (The skill points add up)
Educated (Again skill points)
Gunslinger (Better at VATS with small arms)
Gun Nut (Small arms/repair)
Finesse (better accuracy)
Bloody Mess (Yes it's fun and surprisingly frequent, as the game goes on making for many 1 shot kills/gibs)

I'd advise against 'Swift Learner' tempting as it may be it's bull, you won't need it if you're going for a full exploration of the game. Animal Friend, Lead Belly, Computer Whiz are also pretty useless (just save before any terminals or locked safes/doors). Only ever use 'Hear and Now' if you're chasing achievements, then reload to just before levelling up.

The t51-b armour is the one to go for if you're looking to beast the game's rat, go up to Fort Constantine (top left corner between 2 Sat-Com Arrays) you'll need some 'special keys' off some naughty folks to open all the doors but finding those is your problem. The armour can be repaired by any of the CC merchants (not sure about Doc Hoff as he always dies in my games).

I've played this thing for too long. I've got 80 grand in caps, nothing to spend it on and the flat in Megaton is full of intact Garden Gnomes and one off items.

Lt Plonker

Quote from: Big Jack McBastard on January 22, 2010, 09:16:34 PM


Get hold of the Lincoln Repeater from the Temple of the Union quest Head of State, and keep a stockpile of regular rifles to repair it with. It is a beast of a weapon and has been my main gun for hundreds of hours in the game.

Yeah, that's my favourite. I use it when I want to dish out some justice. :)

JPA

I can't recall the Lincoln Repeater, wonder if I picked it up.

Some good advice BJM, the trading routes was something I never managed to get involved in.

Tip for people who are as stupid as me - holding down the button that brings up your pip-boy puts your pip-boy light on. I spent a fair amount of time stumbling about in incredibly dark locations before I realised that.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Alternatively, just max out your murdering skills and take whatever you need by force. My current character has 100 in the Big guns, Melee and Repair skills, which means I'm basically invincible. I think on my next turn I might try the pacifistic approach, but for now I'm having too much fun being an omnicidal maniac.

One thing I only just noticed is that ammo doesn't weigh anything, so it's worth picking up every bit that you find. Even if you can't fire it, you can trade it.

I found power armour to be a bit pointless myself. The T-51 in particular was a letdown after all the hassle of finding it, as it weighs a tonne and can only be repaired to around 50%, which means the damage resistance is only about the level of regular forms of armour. I guess there is the radiation resistance, but then stimpacks and RadX are so easy to come by that radiation is rarely a problem anyway.

That last bit is part of one of my only real complaints about the game. The whole Mad Max struggle for survival feeling kind of goes out the window quite quickly. I think they should have done without the stimpacks (or made them rarer at least) and fast travel. With no stimpacks  the irradiated food and such would play a bigger part which would make things abit more tactical, I think. Without fast travel you'd more reliant on the folk you meet, which would make the side quests feel like more of a necessity than a distraction. On the other hand it might just make things unnecessarily difficult and no fun.

Another thing I think would be good is if your actions had further reaching consequences. If, for instance, you help a town prosper it could become a bigger target for raiders. I think it would make the world seem more dynamic rather than a bunch of disconnected little areas. The thought occured to me after reading about the original game, in which sending merchants to the vault would extend the time limit on the main quest, but at the cost of tipping off the super mutants to it's location. Also there should have been a bigger difference (or in fact any difference at all) between good and bad karma.

Having said all this, I've spent god knows how many hours playing the game, so obviously it's excellent. It's just that the better something is, the more the little flaws tend to stand out.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Hmm, can't agree on the stimpaks. You must be in credit with the Karma and very well organized. It's so easy to get caught in the wrong place without proper protection, and sometimes running away can result in a huge trail of people out for your blood. That is terrifying, especially when you're blacking out every 20 seconds.

AsparagusTrevor

I was about halfway into the game when I found out ammo didn't weigh anything. Fuck knows how I survived that far!!

All this talk and tips is making me want to play through again. I dunno if my mind could take playing this and GTA IV while waiting for Bioshock 2 and AvP.

kittens

This thread inspired me to start playing through again, this time being less purposefully good. It's a bloody fantastic game.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on January 23, 2010, 01:44:25 AM
Hmm, can't agree on the stimpaks. You must be in credit with the Karma and very well organized.
Not in the least. I'm currently rated "Scourge of Humanity" and am fairly foolish. The main thing is to make use of any beds you find, as they restore your health to 100% for free. Coupled with fast travel it's easy to stockpile stimpacks for emergencies, as every first aid box has at least one. And the weightless ammo means that, even with a low barter skill, you can make lots of caps. Once you've levelled up your preferred killing skills a few times the whole process becomes exponential.

Has anyone tried playing the game without all killing? Is it actually possible and, more importantly, fun?

Mustow Green

Another fun weapon is the Alien Blaster.  I started a new game and went to the alien crash site straight away to do the UFO dlc.  Upon it's completion I brought back with me a blaster, (and a few for repairs), along with it's ammo.  This is a great weapon to carry round from the off and, if you raise your 'Energy Weapons' perks, really becomes mighty against the enclave soldiers.

On an unrealted note I did find a graphics glitch in the vanilla version.  A perticular window near the White House, when jumped through, caused the game to glitch loading graphics.  Looked great in the capital, less so the further away you got.  I managed to recreate this and in the same place.  Was down an alley.  (I'll have a roam and see if I can find it again).

Little Hoover

What happens with the Broken Steel DLC, do you have to complete the main story to access it? Does it change the ending
Spoiler alert
so you don't die if you choose to enter the rotunda and enter the code at the end, or do you have to choose to let that woman do it, and then you get to go on?
[close]

Consignia

Quote from: Little Hoover on January 23, 2010, 12:34:22 PM
What happens with the Broken Steel DLC, do you have to complete the main story to access it? Does it change the ending
Spoiler alert
so you don't die if you choose to enter the rotunda and enter the code at the end, or do you have to choose to let that woman do it, and then you get to go on?
[close]

The ending doesn't change at all, it's just after the ending sequence you get a "Two Weeks Later..." subtitle and a cutscene explaining what has happened in the mean time. It's slightly jarring, really. You can however
Spoiler alert
send Fawkes or Charon in, but it makes no difference.
[close]

Big Jack McBastard

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on January 23, 2010, 01:40:40 AM
I found power armour to be a bit pointless myself. The T-51 in particular was a letdown after all the hassle of finding it, as it weighs a tonne and can only be repaired to around 50%, which means the damage resistance is only about the level of regular forms of armour. I guess there is the radiation resistance, but then stimpacks and RadX are so easy to come by that radiation is rarely a problem anyway.

The Commons traders are the ones to go to for repairs on anything unique, they're better than anyone else at it they'll get the bugger up to 75% or thereabouts as I recall. But regardless the Winterised version of the T-51 (Operation Anchorage DLC) is by far the better one as it can be repaired using any type of power armour which is useful in the later stages of the game (and the other DLCs) when your foes get their shit together and start coming at you with the big guns as they're usually clad in said power armour (alternatively scavving it off the bodies of dead Brotherhood soldiers and Outcasts).

Oh and keep an eye open for the 'random event' when a flying saucer (not the crashed one) explodes overhead out in the wasteland, it took me completely by surprise when it happened to me, a shower of alien power cells (and another Alien Blaster called Firelance) landed around me while I was near a knackered bridge between Minefield and Scrapyard (not sure if that's a hot spot for it but that's where it popped up for me) I bloody love the little touches like that.

There's also more Alien Power Cells in the Outcast base/Armoury..

Big Jack McBastard

Quote from: JPA on January 22, 2010, 11:54:51 PM
I can't recall the Lincoln Repeater, wonder if I picked it up.

Yer Lincoln loving ex-slave blokey at the memorial will buy any Lincoln based tat you find in the Mall (I forget which building) give him the other stuff, hat, figurine, diary etc but keep hold of the gun, it fires magnum bullets too so don't piss them away either.

QuoteSome good advice BJM, the trading routes was something I never managed to get involved in.

Fank you. I kind of dodged that bit on my first run through as well, but then I got all obsessed with seeing everything it had to offer, turned out to be rather a lot, 700 hours plus spent on it hunting down every last thing I could find, all my stats are maxed and I've robbed every location blind. I'm still missing some trivial shit like the odd note or recording but knowing they're trivial does not stop it it sticking in my craw.

Hmmm perhaps I could do with a girlfriend.

glitch

That's a lot of hours - do you know what I should do with Rock Salt's key? I stumbled across her in Tepid Sewers.

Big Jack McBastard

Errrmm <racks brain>

I think it just opens a safe or storage box down there.

Doesn't ring a bell as something you use further afield.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

This site should have all the answers (and spoilers, obviously) that you need.
http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Portal:Fallout_3

Consignia

Yes, that wiki is an absolute god send. It should be the first port of call for Fallout 3 related problems.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

This thread has got me obsessively playing the game again too, so I just bought the expansion packs cheap from Amazon. Annoyingly they don't include Mothership Zeta, but from what I've heard, that's the weakest of the DLC.

I'm looking forward to Broken Steel the most. As I complained in the Videogames thread, the main quest kind of makes a balls up of the whole sandbox point, so removing the hard and fast ending that it foisted on the experience seems like a good thing.

Mustow Green

Mothership Zeta isn't that weak.  It doesn't really add anything to the main game, (except the alien weaponary), but it's fun enough.  And if you do it at an early level it's easy, do it at level 20+ and it can become very hard.

Baxter

How have I only just noticed that the ghoul's eyeballs fly out of their head on a successful head-shot in quite a comical manner?

Consignia

Quote from: Mustow Green on January 24, 2010, 08:43:45 PM
Mothership Zeta isn't that weak.  It doesn't really add anything to the main game, (except the alien weaponary), but it's fun enough.  And if you do it at an early level it's easy, do it at level 20+ and it can become very hard.

I did it at level 30 and it was total piece of piss. An uninspiring piece of piss. The environment was just so boring, and it felt really out of place with the rest of the game. But so did Operation Anchorage and The Pitt. The only DLC I really got my moneys worth out of were Broken Steel and Point Lookout, and Broken Steel only for what it added to the main game.

JPA

Quote from: Consignia on January 24, 2010, 09:45:22 PM
Operation Anchorage and The Pitt.

I quite enjoyed Operation Anchorage
Spoiler alert
(and the Chinese Stealth Suit is a nice little perk to be gained)
[close]
but christ, isn't The Pitt so depressing. Definitely had to turn the music off when I was in the Steelyard looking for ingots, the combination was making me near suicidal.

Mustow Green

Quote from: Consignia on January 24, 2010, 09:45:22 PM
I did it at level 30 and it was total piece of piss. An uninspiring piece of piss. The environment was just so boring, and it felt really out of place with the rest of the game. But so did Operation Anchorage and The Pitt. The only DLC I really got my moneys worth out of were Broken Steel and Point Lookout, and Broken Steel only for what it added to the main game.

I had some real bother with the shielded aliens.  They weren't as resilient as the yokels in Point Lookout but definately weren't a piece of piss.  Operation Ancorage and The Pitt felt easier, (certainly the former).

glitch

Cheers for the Rocksalt info/link. Now annoyed she's dead as I might have been able to mezz her, although I'm trying to keep this character about neutral so not sure how that works with the Slavers.

Just wish I had more time to play this again. I'm about level 15, still have all the DLC to do apart from Anchorage, halfway through my first run on Dragon Age, want to replay Mass Effect with the DLC and I've got ME2 preordered. Argh.